Why I am Running

Pierce County is My Home: I was born in Tacoma, and I spent my childhood in University Place. I graduated from Curtis High School and then went off to the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. My time in the Navy taught me a lot about leadership, integrity, and accountability. But while my military service took me to places around the world, Pierce County has always been my home.

After finishing my service in the Navy, my wife Lauren and I returned to Pierce County to raise a family and be a part of this community. God blessed us with three healthy children—Brent, Craig, and Colin, all of whom I am tremendously proud of. My family has been in the printing business locally since 1934, and I continue in that tradition today. I know the challenges of growing a small business and creating jobs.

A Record of Leadership and Results: I served eight years on the Puyallup School Board, working to improve education locally so our children get a strong start down the path to prosperity. For the past seven years, I have represented the people of Pierce County (Puyallup, Fife, South Hill, Edgewood [pre-redistricting], and Summit/Waller) in the state legislature—first in the state House and now in the state Senate. My focus has been on reforming state government and enacting common-sense solutions that improve the lives of our citizens.

To ensure college affordability, I helped push a fundamental change to tuition policy in our state. These “historic” tuition cuts will save students at UW-Tacoma and other state institutions thousands of dollars.

To protect hospital patients and staff, I sponsored Senate Bill 5593. Now, when individuals in custody for violent or sexual offenses seek medical treatment, they must be accompanied by law enforcement.

We can't just keep doing the same old things and expect better results. That's why I am running for Pierce County Executive.

My Vision for Pierce County: I am not running to oversee business-as-usual at the County. I am running to reshape county government and rebuild our economy. We need to streamline permitting processes to reduce bureaucratic delays, respect property rights, and put people back to work. Our unemployment rate is significantly higher than Seattle—we can do better.

We need to refocus our county budget to eliminate unnecessary administrative expenditures and capital projects, focusing instead on the core functions of county government that serve our citizens—public safety, economic development, and protecting the most vulnerable. This is about more accountability and more results for our tax dollars.

We should expand our aerospace and manufacturing sector to create more family-wage jobs in Pierce County. We must also improve our transportation infrastructure to ensure our ports are competitive and our economic future is secure.